Protective covering



Sept. 19, 1950 EN 2,522,612

PROTECTIVE COVERING Filed June 4, 1947 5 E!- ,Nmvm

WILLIAM C. HARBEN \LQ A A TTOAIVEY Patented Sept. 19, 1950 PROTECTIVECOVERING William C. Harben, Lake Worth, Fla., assignor to Vacuum GripCover Company, Inc., Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Bridgeport,

Application June 4, 1947, Serial No. 752,349

1 Claim.

This invention relates to protective coverings and has particularreference to coverings employed to protect highly finished surfaces fromscratching or scufllng.

An object of the invention resides in the provision of a covering formedof flexible and resilient material of such nature as to conformgenerally to various irregular surfaces to be protected, such as vehiclefenders, vehicle seats or to other articles having a highly finishedsurface to be protected against marring or soiling.

A further and very important object of the invention resides in thedetail construction of the covering, whereby it is frictionally heldagainst slipping on a polished surface, will not wrinkle or roll withbody motion, is readily and easily cleaned and may be used with orwithout a non-absorbent covering.

A particularly outstanding object of the invention is the constructionof the protective covering having its surfaces calendered and providedwith a multiplicity of minute shallow air pockets which, when slightpressure is placed thereon, causes the cover to adhere to a polishedsurface against slipping or crawling.

Other objects of the invention will readily present themselves duringthe course of the following description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a protective cover, constructed inaccordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a slightly modified formof the invention,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the cover with a part thereof removed,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged section taken on line 44 of Figure 3and,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of one of the identicalsides of the cover.

Like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout theseveral figures of the draw- Referring specifically to the drawings, thenumeral 5 designates a protective cover as a whole, embodying arectangular sheet of flexible and resilient material 6, having upper andlower calendered surfaces 1 and B. The calendered surfaces I and 8 areprovided with a multiplicity of relatively small and closely arrangedshallow air pockets 9 and I0 over its entire area and closely arranged.The body 6 is formed of a non-absorbent sponge rubber or the like and,when pressure is placed thereon, causes the suction cups to grip oradhere to the surface to be protected. Grommets l l are providedadjacent each corner of the sheet 6, for a purpose to be described.

Referring to Figure 1, the numeral [2 designates a sheet of relativelythin, non-elastic, nonporous plastic film, that is co-extensive with thecover 6 and provided with grommets i3 adjacent each corner to lie inregistry with the grommet I I. Tie cords or tapes passing through thegrommets, as at it, serve to secure the sheets 6 and I2 together and inalignment. While four grommets are illustrated for both the sheet I2 andcover 6, it is obvious that additional ones may be employed if founddesirable. The purpose of the sheet I2 is to provide a protectivenon-porous, but flexible covering for the cover 6, especially, when thecover is employed in automotive work, to maintain the cover free fromgrease, etc. The sheet I2 may be transferred to the opposite side of thecover 6 when a clean surface is required. It is apparent that the covermay be utilized without the sheet I2, in which case the operator merelyunties the tapes I and removes the sheet, working at such times directlyon one of the calendered surfaces. As the surfaces 1 and 8 becomesoiled, they may be readily and easily cleaned.

It may be found desirable in certain cases to provide the cover 6 with apermanent protective sheet and, to this end, a sheet l2a, see Figure 2,,is secured to the cover 6 in any convenient manner, as by stitching i5around its marginal edges. It may be found desirable also, to cement thesheet l2a upon the cover 6 in lieu of the stitching.

In use, the cover is spread upon or over the object to be protected,such as a vehicle fender. A slight pressure or smoothing action causesthe suction cups to grip the smooth finished surface. This grippingprevents the cover from creeping or sliding on the fender from bodymotion of the operator and the resilient body of the cover will absorbthe blows of tools or other equipment laid thereon. When the cover isused without the sheet l2, it will be found that tools laid thereon willnot slide and become misplaced as is so common with covers heretoforeemployed. The cover, While being flexible and resilient, will not rollor wrinkle in use to conceal small parts or tools. If desirable, anysuitable indicating mark may be printed or stencilled on one side of thecover to indicate to the operator the side upon which he has beenworking, thus keeping the clean side always toward the finished surface.The sheets I2 or l2a are not affected by gasoline, oil, grease,

battery acids or brake fluids and, when soiled,

3 may be readily cleaned by a light sponging with gasoline or mineralspirits. The cover while primariiy designed as a protective cover forauto fenders, has many and varied uses. As a protective covering to beused by a mechanic in driving a vehicle, it will be found that the coverwill lie snugly upon the upholstery and maintain its position againstslipping or sliding, regardless of the movements of the driver. Theidentifying mark upon one side of the cover will be particularlyvaluable to the driver in determining which side of the cover to placeagainst the upholstery.

It will be seen from the foregoing that an extremely simple and highlydesirable cover has been provided. The cover is economical in use,resulting in a considerable saving in laundrv costs, is cheap tomanufacture, has a remarkable toughness against wear and is eflicient toa high degree.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to theprecise'iorm shown, but that it includes within its purview, whateverchanges fair- 1y come within either the terms or the spirit of theappended claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

A flexible protective covering adapted to conform generally to irregularsurfaces such as ve- 4 hicle fenders and same against marring or soilingwhich comprises. a thin flexible sheet of sponge rubber having oppositefaces provided with a multiplicity of small suction cups closelyarranged and extending over the full area of the faces, and a thinflexible sheet of non-porous plastic material covering one face of saidsponge rubber sheet and coextensive therewith, the remaining face ofsaid sponge rubber sheet being exposed, said sheets being securedtogether only at their marginal edges.

WILLIAM C. HARBEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,493,815 Hogan May 13, 19241,499,166. Frazier June 24, 1924 1,551,452 Arias Aug. 25, 1925 1,999,127Kastner Apr. 23, 1934 2,032,114 Clements et al Feb. 25, 1936 2,071,647Miller Feb. 23, 1937 2,189,813 McQuire Feb. 13, 1940 2,262,010 KuehneNov. 11, 1941 2,284,494 Oakley May 28, 1942 vehicle seats toprotectthe.

